Diego Rivera – Stacked Tortilla Torta
Diego Rivera, Detroit Industry: East Wall (detail) (1932-33), fresco, Detroit Institute of Art The Detroit Industry murals were completed by Diego Rivera in the early 1930s. The twenty-seven panels range in size from 518 x 1,370 cm to 60 x 182 cm and completely surround the viewer in the courtyard. The murals were created as...
István Csók – Ravioli Caprese
Classified as a filled pasta, ravioli dates back to the 14th century from the writings of Francesco di Marco (1). The word ravioli is similar to the Italian verb ‘to wrap’, riavvolgere, although it is not a derivative. Traditionally, pasta dough is rolled out as thinly as possible and then wrapped around a filling. Italian-Americans...
Luis Meléndez – Baked Salmon with a Dijon-Tarragon Crust
Luis Meléndez, Piece of Salmon, Lemon and three Vessels (1772), oil on canvas, 42 x 62 cm, Museo del Prado Luis Meléndez is known for a series of still life paintings that were painted during a twenty year period at the end of his life. Piece of Salmon, Lemon and three Vessels (1772) was completed...
Jean-Siméon Chardin – Leek & Gruyère Soufflé
The fluffy egg cake known as a soufflé can be made both sweet and savoury depending on the flavourings incorporated. In French, the word soufflé is the past participle of the verb souffler that translates to ‘to blow up’ – exactly what a soufflé does when it bakes. The method of creation is related to...
Willem Claesz Heda – Plum & Blackberry Streusel Pie
Willem Claesz Heda, Breakfast Table with Blackberry Pie (1631)Oil on wood, 54 x 82 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden As one of the earliest still life painters of the Dutch Golden Age, Willem Claesz Heda is known for his little breakfast scenes called ontbijtjes. Heda’s paintings are dramatically lit with a multitude of reflective trinkets, glasses and...
Raphaelle Peale – Part 2 – Wild Blackberry Jelly
This guest post is by my mother, Julie Fizell. I thought it would be so fun to walk in Megan’s shoes for a while, and she agreed to a guest post. Her father Ed and I quickly decided to make blackberry jelly. We had made strawberry jam several times together and managed to stay married,...
Raphaelle Peale – Part 1 – Wild Blackberry & Honey Frozen Yogurt
Raphaelle Peale, Blackberries (c.1813), oil on wood panel, 18.4 x 26 cm, de Young Fine Art Museum Raphaelle Peale exhibited Blackberries (c.1813) twice at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, first in 1814 and then again in 1817. The small painting depicts both ripe and unripe berries in a small shallow bowl. The subject...
Paul Gauguin – Tomato Tarte Tatin
Paul Gauguin, Nature morte aux tomates (Tomatoes and a pewter tankard on a table) (1883)Oil on canvas, 60 x 73 cm, private collection Paul Gauguin painted Nature morte aux tomates (1883) the year he quit working at the stock exchange and devoted his career to art. The work from this period is closely related to...
Claes Oldenburg – Wood-Fired Pizza
Claes Oldenburg, Flying Pizza (1964), lithograph, 43.2 x 56.2 cm, edition of 200 The Swedish-born artist Claes Oldenburg is known for his sculptures of everyday objects ranging from spoons to hamburgers. The public works are often interactive and were initially scorned before being embraced for their playfulness. In addition to the colossal sized sculptures, the...
Margaret Olley – Orange Grapefruit Marmalade
On August 5th, the exhibition Slow Burn – A century of Australian women artists from a private collection, will open at the S.H. Ervin Gallery. I have spent the past four months working very hard on the exhibition catalogue and am very proud to be a co-author on such an exciting and important project. Of...
Édouard Manet – Bouillabaisse
The reduction of the genre of still life to its title produces a problem between languages. In English, the name ‘still life’ carries certain connotations. The word ‘life’ produces the idea of movement; the subject is living and has been captured or stilled within the painting. The title creates the idea that ‘still life’ is...
Paul Cézanne – French Onion Soup
Paul Cézanne, Still Life with Onions (1896-98), oil on canvas, 66 x 82 cm, Musée d’Orsay The balanced composition of Paul Cézanne‘s Still Life with Onions (1895-98) alternates between the broad flat planes of the wall and the tightly grouped objects on the table. The linear forms of the table and bottle are juxtaposed by...